Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali
Mali: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 72.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali stood at 72.8%.
That represents a change of up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali peaked at 78.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 21.4%, in 1988.
That places Mali 210th out of 217 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 24.8% | 22.6% | 26.9% | 9 |
| 1980s | 23.5% | 21.4% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 35.4% | 24.7% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.3% | 52.9% | 77.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.6% | 70.4% | 78.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 72.8% | 72.8% | 72.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mali
More education data for Mali
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 51.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 45.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 72.8% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 59,920 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 5.51 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 69.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Mali was 72.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 78.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.4% in 1988.
- How does Mali rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Mali ranks 210th out of 217 countries with data for 2023.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mali data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.